X Generations: Artemis
by Simply Prettyful
Summary: Artemis 'Artie' Scrivello saw her mother die when she was two years old. It's one of her oldest memories. Her past is one that toughened as time went on. A year before we join her, she was taken into Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. When a young girl mutant by the name of Rogue arrives with a man with claws, her life spins from control. (Book one of the X Generation stories)
1. Chapter 1

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I don't own X-Men. Stan Lee does. Based from the movies mainly. Sorry if it's a little out of character in places. My first X-Men fiction._

_**Prologue**_

"And crawling on the planet's face... Some insects called the human race... Lost in time... Lost in space... and meaning," Mom had once sang to me.

I had no idea why she hated mutants so much. It seemed as though, at times, that she hated me too. I had no outstanding abilities. I was or seemed at least to be normal. She seemed all too happy to die that day. But I didn't know... I had no idea of what would come.

Mom had died when I was two years old. An old friend of hers had visited the day before. I remember Mom telling me to hide upstairs. And I did. I just found my usual listening-out-of-sight spot and waited. It was a man. I remember his voice being rough and almost uncaring. I don't remember what they were talking about. I remember smelling blood on him. Iron. He did sound in pain a little. He was out of breath. I heard Mom close the living room door and I crept down. There was a vent in the door. I remember using it the Christmas before. I had used it so spy on Mom wrapping presents. I looked through it when this guy visited. I remember seeing a silhouette of the man. His hair was utterly ridiculous! It looked like a wolf! He had traces of blood about him. It was dried on his skin. I remember gripping the vent slightly. My head became dizzy. All I could do was listen.

"She's not your daughter," Mom hissed.

"I beg to differ, Ilianne," he shot back. "She's definately my daughter. I've been watching her when she's out playing."

"You've been what?" Mom almost shrieked. I guess she remembered that I was supposed to be upstairs.

"I have a right, Ilianne. She's my daughter, too," the man argued.

"She isn't, Logan! She never was! She may have your DNA inside her veins but you are not her father," Mom growled. "She will never be your daughter as long I live and breathe."

The man turned. I saw a flash of gray eyes and ran back upstairs. I listened further.

"Logan. Logan, wait!" Mom cried.

"Wait for what, Ilianne? For the grass to grow? For paint to dry? For mutants to be completely and utterly accepted?"

Silence.

"Exactly."

"Where will you go?" Mom asked.

"Canada. Possibly. Maybe Alaska," the man replied.

And I never saw the man again.

The next day, I found myself getting up early the next morning. Mom had been downstairs the whole night. I got my slippers on and hopped downstairs. I walked into the kitchen, expecting to see Mom there. She wasn't. I tried the dining room. Still nothing. The front door was wide open. I went into the living room. And that's when I found her. She was still breathing. I walked up to her.

"Mommy?" I asked.

Mom nodded. She was covered in blood. There was a hole in her chest. There was a knife in her hand. The one she'd kept on the mantle. It was special. Some man in her past had given it to her.

"Mommy? Mommy, who did this?" I said, tears in my eyes. Mom closed her eyes and opened them again labouriously. She held out her hand. I held on to it. She pressed the knife in my free hand and smiled at me.

"And crawling... on the earth's face... some... insects called... the human... race... lost in time... lost in space... and meaning..." Mom breathed. She blinked. "Make me proud to have had you as a daughter. I love you."

Mom died. And I suppose a little bit of me died with her. And another part of me born.


	2. Chapter 2

Evolution? I suppose I could say that I know all about it. You see, I'm a mutant. Some people are afraid of us, others hate us. I pity all of them because they don't seem to be intelligent enough to look past what they can see and find that it's not what we can do that's scary or whatever else, it's what kind of person we are and how we decide to use our abilities. I should know. I used to be one of them. My mother died, hating them.

I was fighting in Canada when I first started to show my mutation. They pushed me into the water but I wouldn't go under. I rested on top, like I was floating. Except I was dry. I just left it at that, hating my power and hating what I was. I was trying to drown myself when they came. A man in a wheelchair called Charles Xavier came offering me a safe place to go. I've been there for a year now. Here, I had no friends. And before last eyar, I'd never gone to school. I loved to read, just not factual works. Professor Xavier helped me a lot with my education. It took me a month to get up to the standards that I needed to understand the lessons they taught. Apparently, my ability to learn was phenomenal. I learnt eleventh grade calculas before mot other subjects. My English 101 skills were right behind my math skills but I found science hard to study. I couldn't stay still whilst learning it. It was hard to concentrate. So here I was, mutant freak in a school of people just like me. Professor Xavier helped me learn how to control my powers better. When I met him, I could only get wet when I wanted to. Now I can breathe underwater, manipulate it and I can pull together moisture in the air to form water.

Friends? I have none. Which is a shame because I can get very loyal to friends. Nobody wants to know me here. Not after I almost killed a Professor with a knife I carried. The knife was given to me by Mom. Professor Xavier didn't take it away on the understanding (or what I call a restricting condition) that I keep it locked away in my room. People think I enjoy seeing pain and tease me regularly about it but thing is... I hate blood. I hate it's smell more than anything. I hate it's smell, it's sight but most of all, I hate the pain it meant.

When I first came here, I asked the professor what kind of a place this was. He answered with a single word: School. When I asked him to elaborate, he said that to be anonymous is our greatest weapon against hostility. To the public, the school is only a private school for gifted young people. Later on, I found that my teachers, Cyclops, Storm and Dr Grey were some of the first students here. The professor protects us and teaches us to control our powers. The other students are mostly runaways like myself. They were probably just frightened or alone and didn't watch their mother take her last breath. Some of them have gifts so extreme that they're a danger to themselves and those around them. I asked what happens to us after we're finished with education. It's a choice. You can rejoin the world as a well-educated adult or you could stay there to teach others.

I guess the ball really got rolling when a man walked in at the end of a physics lesson with the Professor. He rushed through the door, and closed it, his back to us. It was a very swift motion. He had this almost animal-like quality to him. His hair looked ridiculous and he was wearing no shoes. He wore a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a jacket over a bare chest. He was breathing quickly. He turned around and I caught his eye. He sneered at me and and the other kids in the room. Professor Xavier wasn't surprised.

"Hello, Logan," he said and turned back to us. "So, I'd like your definitions of weak and strong anthropic principals on my desk by Wednesday. That'll be all."

I packed my notebook into my bag and shoved my pen into my pocket. I narrowed my eyes at my bag. What was going on here? I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder. I started to walk out when Kitty Pryde rushed back to get her bag. What a dunce! I closed the door, the last one out. Kitty can walk through walls. She'd be okay, I figured. Kitty came back through hte door and had to run through me as well. She stopped and looked back at me.

"Artemis? What are you doing?" she whispered. "We're going to be late for Cyclops' class"

I knew why she was asking. I had my ear against the door. I signalled her to be quiet.

I could hear the Professor, muffled by the door. "Physics," he said. "I'm Charles Xavier. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Where am I?" Logan asked. He sounded familiar.

"Westchester, New York," Professor replied. "You were attacked. My people brought you here for medical attention"

"I don't need medical attention," said Logan.

"Yes, of course," Professor replied. Then he said a little more loudly, "Artemis, if your going to eavesdrop, at least come in and sit down."

I winced. I waved Kitty away and she ran off. I breathed in and opened the door. "Sorry, Professor. I guess my curiosity had control over me."

"That's quite all right. Just remember that curiosity killed the cat," Professor warned.

"Some stupid cat," I muttered and sat down on one of the class chairs.

The stranger asked a question. "Where's the girl?"

"Rogue? She's here. She's fine," the Professor answered. "Artemis here is one of her classmates."

"Really?" said Logan.

That's when Storm and Cyclops walked in. It looked like Kitty was getting a substitute today.

"Ah," said the Professor. "Logan, I'd like you to meet Ororo Monroe, also called Storm."

"Hello," Storm greeted. Storm's hair is white which stands out against her tanned skin. Today she was wearing gray, white and silver. It went great with her hair.

"This is is Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops," said the Professor.

Cyclops offered a hand but Logan. His shades were a nice red colour. I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with his laser-vision or not. I knew some of the other girls inwardly sighed around him. It's kind of annoying how they rush to do their homework so they can hand it in and see him again. It's sickening!

"They saved your life," said the Professor. Dr Grey walked in, a vision in red, from her hair to her toenails. "I believe you've already met Dr Jean Grey."

Logan watched her walk in.

"You're in my school for the gifted. For mutants. You'll be safe here from Magneto," said the Professor.

"Magneto?" I murmured. I had no clue as to who that was.

"What's a magneto?" Logan asked.

"A very powerful mutant who believes a war is brewing between mutants and the rest of humanity," answered Xavier. "I've been following his activities for some time. The man who attacked you is an associate of his called Sabretooth."

Logan looked like he didn't believe him. "Sabretooth?" He pointed at Storm. "Storm?" He turned back to the Professor. "What do they call you? Wheels? Or the kid by there? This is the stupidest thing I ever heard."

He tried to leave but Cyclops was in his way.

"And Cyclops, right?" Logan grabbed him. He whispered threateningly, "You wanna get out my way?"

Cyclops looked around Logan's head and looked at the Professor, as if to ask if it was a joke.

"Logan? It's been almost fifteen years, hasn't it?" said the Professor. "Living from day to day, moving from place to place, with no memory of who or what you are."

This seemed to rile the man before us. "Shut up!" he whispered.

"Give me a chance. I may be able to help you find some answers."

"How do you know?"

Your not the only one with gifts, the Professor answered mentally. He spoke aloud "Artemis, show him what you can do."

I reached toward him. I closed my eyes. He closed his. I imagined the water in the air around me. It was seperated in small groups at the size of an atom each. I just pulled it together, creating a ball of water in my palm. I opened my eyes. Even Dr Grey looked interested. I blushed and dropped the ball. Water splashed on the floor. I was still. I concentrated and brought the the water back up. I brought in my palm and walked over to Logan.

"Excuse me," I muttered. He stepped aside and I went past Cyclops.

There was something about Logan. It was strange. He reminded me of a wolf. A lone wolf. It was funny. He seemed so familiar. The way he spoke, the way he acted and the way he spoke. He as violent and agressive, obviously. His temper is short, again obvious. But then, there was his face. His nose, the shape of his eyes. His eyes were normal at least. Mine were mismatched. My left eye was blue and my right eye gray. I was nearly as tall as him. But then I am naturally tall. In some places, I have to duck.

I saw the new girl, Rogue, when I walked into my next class. She was seated beside me. I usually sat at the back with Kitty and Gracie Kennedy. When I put my bag down beside her, she moved away. I sat down.

"I'm Artemis," I said, not looking at her.

"Rogue," she replied as Storm walked in for the class. She was a quiet girl who looked almost boring like something was missing. Half way through the lesson, whilst I was staring at the board without seeing what was on it, John did his fire thing. I swear he's compulsive. He took his lighter and made a ball of fire behind his back. Rogue was entranced by it. Bobby reached forward an held his own hand out. The cold liquid went through the air and wrapped itself around the ball. It froze the ball. I had no idea that Bobby had that kind of power. I never spoke to him. I wondered. Ice is just water that's been frozen. Could I do that? Could I evaporate water, too? All these questions... I'll have to try later at break. The ball fell to the floor and smashed, scaring John slightly. Storm turned around and frowned.

"John!" she scolded firmly.

"Sorry," John replied.

Bobby was whispering to Rogue. "I'm Bobby. What's your name?"

"Rogue," Rogue answered.

That's when I saw something that made me very jealous indeed. Bobby leaned over and put his hand over the desk. When he took it away, a rose made from ice sat there. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Welcome to Mutant High," Bobby said.

I had enough. I leaned forward so Bobby could see me. "Hey, Bobby? Any second now, Storm's gonna notice your not listening."

"What do you care, Artemis?" Bobby shrugged. "Too much pain in learning to gain?"

"That makes no sense," I scowled.

"Neither does nearly killing a teacher," Bobby shot back.

"She had it coming! She insulted my mother," I growled back. Storm seemed to stop writing but Bobby and I were still having our quiet argument.

"She said nothing about your mother," Bobby shrugged. He'd lost his tone. I hadn't, anger pentingup inside me.

"Bobby, do you know anything about me?" I asked. Bobby shook his head. "Do you know that I woke up one morning to find my mother dying? I was two years old, Bobby. I was two years old. And if you knew anything about me, you'd understand. But you don't so don't even try to argue with me."

Remember the ice on the floor. Well, it had melted by this point, being around John. And now, with my anger rising, I shot up like a serpent and sprayed him in the face. Bobby looked surprised. Storm had been watching us. Rogue was just writing down the last of what was on the board. Bobby stood up and I watched him. He tried to freeze me but I held up a hand, concentrating. I sent it to the wall where it hit a window and made a nice pattern. I stood up, my bag on my shoulder and collected my things. I flounced out of the room.

My temper can be a pain. But it's also a blessing. Storm never asked why I walked out of class. She just understood. She had continued with the class in my absence. I walked out into the gardens and just sat on the grass. I loved the grass. It was soft. I lay back and closed my eyes.

"You know, Professor, it's rude to snoop," I yelled.

"Then don't make me," chuckled the Professor from a few feat away. I opened my eyes and looked at him. Sure, he was upside down from where I was looking but it made him look a ittle more interesting. Logan was with him. He turned to Logan and said, "I must leave you now, Logan. I have matters to attend to."

Logan ligured a little longer after the Profesor wheeled away. He looked at me and frowned.

"Hey, kid," he said and walked over. "How long you been here?"

"About a year," I replied. It was kind of fun to look at him upside down.

"Where were you born?" he asked.

"London. But Mom was on a holiday with my grandmother," I shrugged. "I came early. I'm Canadian by Nationality."

"Me too, I think," Logan shared. "What's your full name, kid?"

"Artemis Scrivello," I answered. Logan went to ask something else but I beat him to it. "I'm out of class because I would have drowned someone if I didn't leave."

Logan nodded. The bell went and I got to my feet. He seemed to be thinking hard about something. I started to walk away. It was time for break. Kitty saw me walking in and tried to stop me for a chat. I just shook my head. She didn't try any further. I looked back at Logan and found him watching as I walked. I ran through the doors of the building and went to my room.


	3. Chapter 3

To say that I had strange dreams would only be an atom of the real things. They were so strange and so weird that they often scared me. The one I had that night for example was a great way of showing the scariness. I was sent into a world that I could usually control. There were no mutants, no humans.

I was a wolf.

Just me and the pack. I ran swiftly through forests, my paws moving so fast beneath me. There was a Queen song in the background. I could make out Freddie Mercury's voice. But I could not make out the song. It changed anyway as time passed. An AC/DC song was playing and I wasn't running anymore.

I was standing. Just standing and staring into the distance.

A man came running out. I couldn't see who it was. Three claws came from each hand, glinting in the light. He ran past me and roared. I didn't move. I could hear battles around me but saw nothing. Names were called out. But I saw nothing. I heard a howl and was finally allowed to move.

I ran forwards, never looking back. I could distantly hear the sound of a revved engine. I kept going. Until I stopped. I saw a woman, her back to me.

"Artie... Artemis... Come to me," she whispered.

I stayed where I stood. "No."

"Don't argue with Mommy, Artemis," she scolded sweetly.

"I'm not. Because you're not Mom. Mom's dead," I breathed.

Mom changed her voice. She sounded like a gremlin from the movie 'Gremlins'. "You stupid mutant! I should never have made you!"

"You didn't," I shouted back. "Your not my mom!"

She was silent a moment before snarling back. "Are you sure?"

She turned around. I had been right. It wasn't Mom. It was a woman's body, yes. But there was no face. Her face was just a dark void, a black hole.

"Stupid cub," she cackled.

"Don't call me stupid," I argued, a fire raging in my eyes.

I transformed again and ran at her, knocking her down. I tore at her, ripping her apart. Her head went cleanly but her limbs splattered me in blood. I howled at the darkness around me and kept running. And I started to fall. I changed back into a girl and screamed. I landed with a grunt on an old couch. Our old couch back home. Mom was right beside me. The television was on and Mom seemed to be watching it. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was showing. The final song, 'Superheroes' played morbidly.

Janet Weiss began her verse, "And superheroes come to feast, to taste the flesh not yet deceased and all I know is still the beast is feeding."

I glanced at Mom. "Good film, huh, Mom?"

Mom didn't answer. I shook her arm and she didn't even move.

Charles Gray said the final verse of the song. "And crawling on the planets face, some insects called the human race, lost in time, lost in space and meaning."

I got up and crouched by Mom, a younger version of me coming from behind.

"Mommy?" we said. "Mommy who did this?"

Mommy didn't answer. But I did wake up.

I woke up screaming.

A hand was on my shoulder and I was sweating. I jumped out of bed and pressed myself against the wall. The hand disappeared and my door opened. John and Dr Grey stormed through. I had tears in my eyes and kept staring at my bed. Dr Grey tried to calm me down but I was in too much of a wreck to know what was going on around me. I kept pressed against the wall, not letting Dr Grey come near me. That's when I felt a pair of warm hands on my face. I sniffed and looked up to find John's face level with my own. He looked me square in the eye. I began to panic again. But John wouldn't let me get away. He just stood there, watching my face, watching my eyes as they darted around. When I calmed down a little, I was still. I wasn't looking at John. I looked at the door. It was open, wide open. I pushed forward and hugged John, still crying. John was certainly surprised by it. I could hear encouragement from Dr Grey and, gingerly, he hugged me back.

"It's all right, Artemis. It's going to be all right," he assured me. I started to breathe normally and the tears evaporated. I was still sniffing but that was the only trace that I was crying that remained.

"Well done, John," Dr Grey said from the door.

I could hear something. I pulled my face away from John and closed my eyes, listening. Someone else... I could hear a voice. Rogue. She was talking to Logan. Then there was a roar and a scream. I started to run out the door, John behind me.

"Artemis! Artemis,wait!" John yelled.

I yelled over my shoulder. "For what, John? For grass to grow? For paint to dry? For mutants to be completely and utterly accepted by the world? Keep up, John."

I turned a corner and found open door. I couldn't remember running there. There was a piece of me gone. And I didn't know what it was. I ran to the door and found Rogue with three metal knives sticking from her back and Logan looking scared. He saw me in the doorway, my mouth hanging open in shock. The knives withdrew.

"Help me!" he yelled. When I didn't move he yelled again but louder. He knew I would be no help. "Somebody, help!"

I didn't move. John was walking towards me. I saw Rogue reach forward. Logan looked scared, like a trapped animal. She touched his face and he gasped. His skin seemed to tighten, to show the veins under his skin. The skin where she'd been cut began to close up. More people joined us, Bobby at the back. John pulled be backwards and out of the way. I was still, watching in awe and in fright. Dr Grey and Cyclops ran in and turned the light on, Storm right behind them. The cuts completely closed up and she let go. Logan fell to the ground, flopping like a fish. In that moment, I was scared for Logan. Rogue turned to Storm.

"It was an accident," she sniffed and went out of the room, a path forming through the people at the door. John put a hand through my own and led me back to my room.

I hated awkward silences. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because. Someone starts screaming in the night and it's a pain for everyone else. Well," he said as we passed the kid by the television, "those who sleep anyway."

"Yeah, right. And the real reason is?" I growled.

"Dr Grey pulled me out of my doorway as she was on her way," he shrugged. "I'd gotten up to see what was going on."

"Well, thanks anyway," I shrugged. "Did... Never mind."

"Did what?" John asked.

"It doesn't matter," I said.

"Sure it does," John replied.

"Fine. Did... Did-Did you see anyone in my room when you came in?" I asked, still unsure of the hand on my shoulder.

"No. You were alone," John said.

"Oh. I thought I saw someone in my room. And after a nightmare like that one, it freaked me out," I explained.

"You're fine now. Just go back to bed. It's five past four in the morning," John instructed. "And tomorrow, come sit next to me at lunch. I'll answer any questions about tonight you have. I promise."

"Fine," I answered.

I went back into my room. Why did I hug John? He's a pathetic boy who can manipulate fire. But then again, I'm a pathetic girl who can control water. I turned the light on and almost screamed. My walls were covered in writing. And crawling on the planet's face, some insects called the human race, lost in time, lost in space, and meaning. Those lyrics to a song written in the seventies for a little show that grew into a film that did badly at first before the freaks found it and gave it it's own cult. Those last lyrics of a film that Mom had loved. Richard O'Brian would have liked this room. But I hated the fact that the words were written over the walls. The Professor wheeled up behind me.

"Amazing what hidden abilities can do, isn't it?" he asked.

"You mean I did this?" I whispered.

"Who else could have. Your door was closed before Dr Grey and John came in. You were having a nightmare and that alone, even before you started to scream, awoke both Dr Grey and I," he told me. "You're hydrokinetic abilities are just one side of your coin. The question is, do you know that side?"

"No..." I said. I thought back. "I mean... I can hear as well as see and smell things within a mile radius but I put it down to the moisture in the air."

"A pyramid no less. With your personality as the base, your hydrokinesis, your long range senses and now it seems that you have some mental abilities that are quite different from your control over water," explained the Professor. "Your mind is quite the spectacle, Artemis. I can help you to control it. But first, who's that hiding behind the door?"

And I saw it in the corner of my eye. A shadow escaped my room. I saw a flash of mismatched eyes.

"Sterling..." I answered. "I made him up when I was six. He was my imaginary friend when I was in care."

"And now he's broken free from your mind," the Professor sighed. "Can you find him?"

I looked the Professor in the eye. "Can't you read my mind to find out?"

"Yes. But I'd rather hear it from your mouth than your mind," answered the old man.

"He's like a male version of me. So I guess I'd know from guessing where I'd hide," I answered. Where had the answer come from? Nowhere I knew of. Then I knew. I knew because faintly, I could hear him. I could hear Sterling calling me. I'm down here, Artemis. I closed my eyes. Come back, I thought. Come here. No. I want you to come back, Sterling. I don't have to if I don't want to. Please. I need you. ...Can I live? Live? You can go to classes for me if you want to! I don't like school! I don't either. Please come here. Sterling... Please come back to me. You forgot me. I thought you'd remember if I wrote on the walls. That was you? Look, I'm sorry I forgot. I'm ten years older than I was. You are too, Sterling. Please come back. Remember when we ran from the house? From Aunt Polly and the other foster kids? I was there right beside you. I helped you, Artie. I know. I realise that now. But I need you to come here.

A hand rested on my shoulder and a voice whispered in my ear. "I came back for you."

I opened my eyes. I was sitting on my bed. The Professor was watching. I opened my eyes and found Sterling in front of me. His brown hair was cut short and stuck up at the front. His eyes were mismatched. One gray, one blue. He wore a raw-hide trench coat and a scarf. Apart from his height, he was exactly as I remembered him.

"Professor... This is Sterling," I breathed.

Sterling looked at the Professor and offered his hand. The Professor shook it.

"A mind within a mind," he murmured.

The door opened and Dr Grey walked in. I could see Sterling look at her. He hid behind me and evaporated.

"Wait!" I whispered.

"Professor? I think you should come and have a look at this," Dr Grey said, watching me.

"I'll see you tomorrow in lessons, Artemis," said the Professor. "Come and see me tomorrow. We'll talk further."

He left the room, Dr Grey following him.

When the door closed I lay on my bed. I could feel Sterling in my head, going through mental doors that I'd built and finally felt him watching with my eyes. He used my mouth to speak.

"You promised me," he said in my voice. "Back then when we were still a team. You promised you'd never forget."

He knew I was freaked. He knew I was confused. And now, he had no idea how much he was hurting me. I answered back.

"I'm sorry, Sterling," I whispered.

Sterling went quiet and I no longer felt him in my head. Where was he hiding? The block in my mind came back and I went back to sleep with an uneasy feeling.


	4. Chapter 4

Rogue seemed to notice my inability to sit still the next morning. It didn't help that I was having an internal argument with Sterling. He wouldn't let me find him and, I know how this sounds, the inside of my head itched.

"Stop it," I whisper out loud. The class was loud. It was a music lesson, of course.

"Stop what?" Rogue asked from beside me.

"Nothing, don't worry," I replied. Then Sterling decided to make the itching go away and hit me with something. Possibly my sanity! "Ow!"

"What's up with you this morning, Artemis?" John asked from behind me. I turned.

"Nothing. Just a head ache- ow!" Sterling was doing it again. I mentally begged him to stop. He wouldn't relent. Everywhere I looked, my eyes hurt. I couldn't look from side to side with out him hurting my eyes. "Ow!"

I yelled this last one and everyone dropped what they were doing to turn and look at me. Rogue got a few glares. I growled at everyone. "What? Never seen a headache before?"

Eyes turned away and John put a hand on my shoulder. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I replied. "Can you take your hand off my shoulder?"

John did.

Sterling had stopped. And I don't know why. There it was again, though. The block on my mind. The door opened and he walked in. Everyone looked at him. He pointed at me. Everyone looked at me and my pained expression. He drew my knife and threw it at me. It dissolved into nothing right before it took my nose off. Shame really. It's too pointy for my liking. I could do with a nose job.

"Artie," he cackled. I blinked slowly. He didn't impress me.

"Sit down, Sterling," I sighed.

Storm was teaching us at the time. She stared at Sterling. "Artemis. Who's this?"

"My... brother. My long-lost brother who turned up out of the blue yesterday," I said. I scared myself with my lie. I couldn't tell them that he was a figment of my imagination!

"No," Sterling sighed. "I'm a f-"

I got up on the table and jumped at him, taking him down. He kicked me off; sent me into the wall of the classroom. Since when did he have the strength to do that? I didn't have that kind of strength! He sauntered towards me.

"My turn, Artie," he growled. He handspringed towards me and kicked at me. It hit my face. I glared at Sterling.

"Sterling! What's the matter with you? That hurt," I yelled. He went to hit me. He found himself hitting a wall of water. I took my chance and kicked him where it hurts. In the face. I could have aimed lower but where was the fun in that? I hit him in the solar plexus- and I missed. He'd jumped up and landed behind me. I could see Storm trying to figure out who was who. He looked like me. In boy from, maybe, but like me nonetheless. He grabbed me from behind.

"Hello, Artie," he said. "Why don't you tell them who I really am? Huh?"

"Get off me!" I screamed and elbowed him in the solar plexus. I stamped on his foot. I grabbed his shoulders and threw him above and over me. I hit his neck and his nose before kicking him in the groin. Every boy in the room grimaced, winced or took a deep breath inwards.

Sterling flickered in form.

He looked at me and gave me the peace sign. Backwards. I kicked his head and he was out.

He faded again.

I looked around. Everyone was watching me.

"Quit looking at me," I said, looking around. I gulped. "Quit staring at me! I'm not a freak!"

I ran out of the room, forgetting my things and the people there. That block in my head returned and I knew what it was. It was Sterling. He was hiding where I couldn't find him. He was hiding in me. Wait. He was me anyway. I had just fought myself. But why would I attack me? Ah! I had a headache again. Sterling was resting, out of the way. But for how long?

I ran out into the garden. I hated the people here! I just hated them. I climbed up a tree and just cried silently. I couldn't remember climbing properly. Something was going on in my head. Something that was dangerous. Lunch time came at last and I watched as people came out of the building. Rogue looked sort of lonely. She looked how I felt. She sat down on the bench beneath the branches. She watched people for a while.

"Rogue," a boy called from behind her. Bobby walked towards her.

"Bobby!" Rogue called back, smiling.

"Rogue. What did you do?" Bobby asked, sitting down. "They say you're stealing other mutants' powers."

"No, no! I borrowed his power," Rogue corrected.

Bobby came down hard. This was odd because it just wasn't Bobby. "You never use your power against another mutant."

Rogue seemed to pick up on the oddity. "I had no choice."

Bobby looked away. I wasn't sure if he saw me in the tree.

"No, you have to understand me-" Rogue protested.

"If I were you," he interrupted, "I'd get myself outta here."

Rogue was silent for a moment, trying to think about what had just transpired. "What do you mean?"

"Listen, the students are freaked. Professor Xavier is furious," Bobby told her. "I don't know what he'll do with you. I think it'll be easier on your own."

Rogue looked away, biting her lip. Why was Bobby telling her this? I would never have thought he would!

"You should go," Bobby instructed.

Rogue got to her feet and walked away. She looked back at Bobby before walking on. When she was out of sight, I jumped down.

"What's the matter with you, Bobby?" I asked, angry. "I thought she was your friend."

"I was telling her the truth," Bobby said, looking slightly shocked. "I was telling her what she needed to know."

"Tell me, Bobby, were you born an ass or is it a second mutation?" I barked. Bobby walked up to me.

"You shouldn't mess with me," he whispered threateningly.

"Did you miss my little fight earlier? It's you, Bobby, who shouldn't mess with me," I snarled. Bobby backed off.

I turned and ran after Rogue. She wasn't outside anymore, I could hear that much. So I went inside. I pushed my ear against a wall and closed my eyes, listening. Rogue was opening the door to her room. I ran after the sound. There was a click. I ran down a hall, turning a corner and down another hall before I found her. I skidded slightly at her door way. I was out of breath. Rogue turned.

"What do you want?" she asked her voice quiet and scared.

"I want to help you," I breathed. "I heard what Bobby said. You can't possibly believe every word out of his mouth like that. Something's up."

"I'm going anyway," Rogue announced.

"But... But Rogue! Bobby wasn't telling the truth!" I insisted.

"I don't want to take a chance, Artemis," she whispered.

"Artie," I said. "I prefer to be called Artie. Artemis is too posh."

"I don't think it matters right now, Artemis- Artie," Rogue shrugged. "Because I'm going."

I watched her for a second. "Then let me come with you. Before I came here, I rode a motorcycle from Newfoundland to New York. I've travelled Northern America like no one here. You'll need me, Rogue," I told her. "Just let me come with you."

She turned away.

"It can get pretty lonely out there. People are strange but when you're a stranger, no one cares about you and nobody dares learn your name," I said. Rogue turned around. "No one wants anything to do with you when you're a stranger, Rogue."

She watched me. I blinked and looked her in the eye. It was uncomfortable. I hated looking people in the eye.

"What have you got to lose?" I asked her. "I think you'll agree when I say that there was no way that Stirling is my brother. He isn't you know. He's a figment of my imagination. I was basically beating myself up earlier, Rogue. C'mon. If I can trust you with that piece of information, then surely you can trust me to come with you."

Rogue gave up. "Fine. Can you get your stuff and meet me here in five minutes?"

"You're a bad liar, Rogue," I chuckled. "Hold on a second."

I pictured my room. The moisture in my room. Only the things I needed... lifted themselves and poured into a bag. I took my knife from where I kept it, from a box under my bed. It put itself into my bag and the bag went out of my sight. Instead I found it in my hands. Rogue was staring at it.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I... I don't know. I mean... I'm not even sure if I did..." I stuttered. I opened it and brought out Mom's knife. Rogue backed up a little. I raised an eyebrow at her. "This was my Mom's knife. She gave it to me seconds before she died. Hm. I was two years old. I managed to hide it when people came looking for me. I hid it in my clothes. No one found it."

"How did she die?" Rogue asked.

"She was shot," I answered. I heard someone coming from inside. "If you want to go, we should leave now. And I do mean _now_."

Rogue followed me out the door. We stopped at every corner, me listening. I led her out of the mansion just fine. The gates were a little harder to get over. I put my bag down and kicked the gate. The next gate opened freely. Rogue and I ran quickly. We kept going. When I could no longer hear talk of classes with mutants, I knew we were safe.

"There's a train station a few miles from here," I said, breathing in quickly. We had stopped for breath. "You okay?"

She nodded.

"You know that Logan guy you came with?" I asked. "Has he ever been on the news or something?"

"Not as far as I know," Rogue answered. "I met him in Laughlin City, Northern Alberta. He was cage-fighting. Why?"

"Shouldn't keep animals in cages when they don't belong there," I muttered.

We started to run again. I couldn't remember the last time I'd ran so much. I missed it. The wind through my hair, the beat of my feet on the ground, the cold air pushing against me. I stopped ahead every now and then, scouting. Rogue caught up and I'd start again. We ran five miles. It was hard to believe but when you have a reason, you can run as far as you need, mutant or not.

When we got to the station, we looked up at the times.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

"The first train we can get on," Rogue answered.

"Good choice," I said. Something was off. I looked around. "C'mon. Do you have money?"

"No. Do you?"

"No. But I know how we can get on the train without being spotted," I answered, grinning. "Follow me."

She went behind me and we watched the security guard that checked for tickets for a moment. I noticed a cup on the desk behind him. I made it spill the water inside it. The guard cursed and went to sort out the wet files and so on. Rogue and I ran silently behind him through to the train. The train meant we were home free. We boarded, trying to be as conspicuous as possible. We chose seats. I needed the bathroom.

"I'll be back in a minute. Don't move and don't make eye-contact," I instructed. I went through three carriages and found the dank and dirty bathroom. Geez! I hated train toilets. They were hard to flush on the move and the water kept going back and forth dangerously. The sink had someone's sick in it. But they did have seat protectors. I washed my hands afterwards, trying to be as quick as possible. The train started to move by the time I got out of the door.

"Ah, Miss Scrivello. Mystique said you'd be here," a voice said. It was an old man. I turned and found an old man behind me, certainly, but he had the stupidest helmet. The train stopped with a flick of his hand.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"They call me Magneto," he grinned.

I gulped and turned to run. I ran through the next carriages.

"Oh. A chase. I haven't been in one for years," Magneto laughed, following me at nothing more than a quick walk.

I bit my tongue and bowed my head down, trying to be quicker. I reached Rogue's compartment. I saw her there with Logan of all people. "Rogue!"

She and Logan looked up just as something hit me in the back and sent me hurtling towards them. I skidded to a halt at Logan's feet. He helped me into a seat beside Rogue.

"Thanks," I muttered, my back killing me.

Magneto walked into the carriage. Logan got his claws out.

"You must be Wolverine," Magneto said. Logan started to walk forward but Magneto held out his hand. Logan couldn't move. I was scared out of my mind. "That remarkable metal doesn't run through your entire body, does it?"

Magneto opened his palm and Logan looked like he was on Jesus' cross. Magneto was using his power to bend his claws apart.

"No," I whispered.

"Stop!" yelled Rogue. "Stop it!"

"Put him down," I screamed.

Logan seemed to see this as an opportunity. "What the hell do you want with me?"

"You? My dear boy!" Magneto laughed. "Whoever said I wanted you?"

Then it dawned on me. He wanted either me or Rogue. And then I had a little hope. I hoped it was me he wanted, not Rogue. I wanted Rogue to go back to the Professor. Logan looked at Rogue and I. I looked back at him. Magneto pointed at Logan and he went sprawling into a wall.

"Run," I told Rogue.

She got up.

She tried but Magneto sent a dart into her neck.

Rogue went down.

"No!" I screamed, I got up. I glared at him. "Why are you doing this?"

"For our survival, young lady," Magneto grinned. "Why?"

"Why? Why? Because we are surviving, you imbecile! We are surviving. The government can't eradicate us. It would be bad for his public image, dunce," I shouted.

"I think that's enough out of you, my girl," Magneto grinned. And something hit me on the head. Magneto was the last person I heard. "Young people."

Mom was in my dream again. Sterling was there too. I was two again, watching Mommy talk to a stranger. He was talking to her.

"She's my daughter, too," the man argued.

"She isn't , Logan," Mom argued.

_Logan?_ I thought.

"Why do you think I tried to get myself remembered so badly?" Sterling whispered beside me.

"Logan? I don't remember her saying his name," I replied.

"I awoke when I heard his voice," Sterling said. "If you remember, you thought the man had 'ridiculous' hair. And the voice is the exact same, Artie."

"Okay, that's logic. But I don't remember her saying his name," I insisted.

"She did. But as you said. You can't remember," Sterling told me. "Now wake up. Rogue's kicking your foot."


	5. Chapter 5

I opened my eyes. "Quit kicking me, Rogue."

"Sorry. I wasn't sure if you were dead or not," she said.

"Why would I be dead?" I asked her. And then I felt the wetness on my forehead. Something was trickling down my face. I looked around, trying to ignore the smell of iron. I could smell salt water. And we were moving? "Rogue? Are we on a boat?" I asked.

"I think so," she replied.

"Any idea where we're headed?" I wondered aloud.

"No."

"Great," I sighed.

A blue woman walked in through the doorway where the driver of the boat was meant to be. I could see a man on the floor and breathed in deeply. The woman looked at Rogue impassively before looking at me. She looked confused. She looked up as Magneto entered our cosy little room on a boat. He looked out a window and spoke to Rogue.

"Magnificent, isn't she?" he asked, referring to the statue of Liberty.

"I've seen it," Rogue replied, glaring up at Magneto.

"I first saw her in 1949," he informed. "America was going to be the land of tolerance. Of peace."

"You know," I said, drawing Magneto's attention for the first time. "I think you would have hated my mother. But I reckon you would have agreed with her on one thing."

"And what would that have been?" Magneto asked, looking at my forehead.

"Ever seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show? Heard the last song, Superheroes? It was her favourite. And it was her favourite for one reason. The last line," I told him, laughing slightly. I felt light headed. "'And crawling on the planet's face, some insects called the human race, lost in time, lost in space and meaning.'"

Magneto smiled at me. He crouched down. "Wise words written by a wise man. Richard O'Brian, I believe."

"Yes."

"Tell me, who was your mother?" Magneto asked.

"Her name was Ilianne Scrivello," I answered, spitting it out (and hoping to get some on his face).

He started to laugh. "You honestly have no idea, do you?"

"What?" I demanded.

"Your mother was a mutant," Magneto said. "A very powerful psychic. I believe that she was... put down by one of my old colleagues. He's dead now, of course. He was older than I."

"Lucky he isn't around these days," I muttered. My mother? A mutant? "Why did she hate other mutants?"

"My dear, she didn't," Magneto replied. "She hated humans. Why do you think she called them insects? Just the lyrics to some funny song? I think not, my girl."

He went to leave when Rogue asked a question. "Are you going to kill us?"

Magneto stopped. "Yes."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because there is no land of tolerance. There is no peace," he told her, kneeling down, "not here or anywhere else. Women and children. Whole families destroyed simply because they were born different from those in power. Well, after tonight, the world's powerful will be like us. Our cause will be theirs. Your sacrifice will mean our survival."

A door opened beside Rogue. A man wearing animal pelts excessively growled in.

"I'll understand if that comes as small consolation," Magneto said, standing again. "Enjoy your time with your company. She'll be gone in a short while."

I heard a gunshot and a scream. Darkness. Then I opened my eyes. Rogue was gone. I panicked. Where was Rogue? The I realised why I wasn't tied up. I was supposed to be dead. That's why that blue lady looked at me like she was confused. I got up slowly. I saw my reflection in the window. I was perfectly fine but covered in blood.

I got out of the door and dived into the water. I used it to shoot me silently onto Liberty Island. I ran towards the statue. I heard something. Like an alarm. I ran to it. I found the museum. I saw them. Just the four people I wanted to see the most. Storm, Dr Grey, Cyclops and-

"Logan!" I yelled and ran to him. I felt my eyes prick.

"Artie?" he wondered aloud. I ran into a hug.

"Where's Rogue? Magneto- blue lady- wolf man!" I said, crying.

"Hey, hey! Calm down. What's up?" Logan asked me, hands on my face. "Why is your face covered in blood."

"I think they shot me," I sniffed. "Twice."

"Then why aren't you dead?" Storm asked.

"I don't know," I cried.

Then I heard something again. Something moving. Logan smelled it. "There's someone here," he said.

"Where?" Cyclops asked.

"I don't know. Keep your eye open," he said.

I moved from him and allowed him to walk ahead. Storm caught my arm and looked at me. "Artemis, do you think you could go and find our jet? I want you to-"

"No," I rejected. "I'm not leaving. I can't. I need to find Rogue. I can fight."

Storm sighed. "Artemis, please."

"Storm. Where are we?"

"Liberty Island. Why?" Storm asked.

"What is an island surrounded by?" I asked.

"Water. All right. If you think you can handle it," she sighed.

"Anything?" Cyclops asked Logan when he got back. He smelled different. I backed up.

"There's someone here. I just can't see 'em," Logan replied. And then Logan attacked Logan. Or rather, Logan attacked his copy that had spoken to Cyclops. I ran after him to see what was going on, the adults right behind me. Logan was being kicked away from his copy before they both drew metal claws. Cyclops was ready to shoot. Which one he was aiming for, I doubt he cared. They saw us.

"Wait!" they said and Logan closed the door by slashing at some unseen object.

"All right. Back up, back up," Cyclops instructed, taking us further back and therefore away from Logan.

Some froggy dude came from nowhere and kicked Cyclops away. I ducked and ran to the nearest window. The dude whipped his tongue at Storm and threw her. He went after Dr Grey next. He stepped forward. She stepped back. He did a stupid-looking dance. He jumped at her. But Dr Grey was too fast. She stopped him in mid-air. He was confused for a second and then he spat at her.

"Ew!" I yelled. He turned and went after me. I ran outside and he followed me. I was stopped only by a rail. I turned and found him in the doorway, grinning.

"Ever seen a toad kill a girl? No? Well you're about to experience it first-hand," laughed the Toad.

"I don't think so," I stuttered.

Toad cocked his head, an inviting smile on his face. He jumped after me. I raised my hand. I pushed at the water behind me. A snake made from water rose. It pushed him through the wall.

"Nice work," said a voice. I turned and found my mother smiling at me.

"Mom?" I asked incredulously. I took a few steps toward her. I heard something moving inside. Toad was on his feet again, fighting Storm. Wait. Mom was dead. I saw her die. I smiled at her. "Wait. How do I know it's you? Who's my father? You know I know by now."

"How could you know? I don't even know that," Mom smiled.

"Wrong answer," I said and jumped into the water. I made a sort of geyser around me and it shot me up. I stood on the water and smiled.

"Get down, girl," 'Mom' yelled.

"I'm not just a girl. I'm a mutant," I grinned and sent water hurtling toward her, my fist coming into contact with her before the water did. She ran.

"I've got no time for little girls," she said as she left. I ran inside, looking for someone, anyone. I saw Storm come from the elevator and force the Toad Dude out a window with her winds. She struck him with lightning and I ran towards her.

"Storm! Storm!" I yelled. She turned and smiled at me. "That was amazing, Storm!"

"Thanks. Who's the boy?" she asked. I'd been so busy fighting and watching others fight, I didn't notice Stirling leave my mind. "Sterling I think you called him, right?"

"Yeah," I said without turning around.

"You know that the Professor told us all about him, right?" Storm asked.

I went quiet. "I don't think this is the right time for this. Sterling, don't say a word."

"Gotcha," he whispered in my ear. I rolled my eyes at him.

Storm went to the edge of the balcony. Logan, Cyclops and Dr Grey were down there. Dr Grey looked straight up at Sterling then she looked between me and Logan. I growled at Sterling.

"Hey," Storm said and gestured they come up here.

"What? You said not to _say_ anything," Sterling shrugged. I hit him in the shoulder. "Ow! You know figments of your imagination of feelings too!"

"Yeah. Mine," I snarled. "Quit playing around, Sterling."

For some reason, I found myself going up the statue with the X-Men. I didn't name them that, it's what the other kids at school call them. We went up to the head and looked up at a great, big, gaping hole in the scalp of Lady Liberty. I was slightly out of breath but I was fine. Logan went ahead of Cyclops and stopped.

"Everybody get out of here," he barked.

"What is it, Logan?" Storm asked.

"I can't move," Logan told us stiffly.

He flew at the wall and stuck there. Bars from the walls wrapped around Storm, Cyclops and Dr Grey. They all went to the walls. Magneto came down through the hole.

"Ah, my brothers," he smiled. He turned to me. "I thought we killed you, Miss Scrivello. No matter. We'll find a way, now, won't we?"

"Not before I kill you first," I growled.

I was sent back against the wall by metal tentacles.

"Welcome. And you," he said to Logan, "let's point those claws somewhere safer."

Logan was forced to point his fists at his chest and was wrapped by tentacles, too. I breathed out quickly, trying to get out. I could hear waves crashing down below.

"The daughter of Ilianne Scrivello. Who would have thought you'd be hydrokinetic," Magneto tutted. "You remember Ilianne, don't you, Scott? I believe she once punched you in the face."

"Good woman," Scott muttered sarcastically.

I glared at him. "Hey!"

Someone jumped down through the hole.

"You'd better shut your eyes," Magneto told him and the man I saw earlier who wore the pelts of animals took away Cyclops' visor.

Not far away, on Ellis Island, the summit began.

Magneto was trying to get hold of Mystique when Dr grey decided to bid for time.

"I've seen Senator Kelly," she told him.

Magneto grinned. "So, the good Senator survived the fall. And the swim to shore. He's become even more powerful than I could have imagined."

"He's dead," Dr Grey told him.

"It's true," Storm interjected. "I saw him die. Like those people down there will die."

"Are you sure you saw what you saw?" Magneto asked her, now close to her face.

Fireworks went off outside.

"Why do none of you understand what I am trying to do?" Magneto asked. "Those people down there control our fate and the fate of every other mutant! Well... Soon our fate will theirs."

I'm guessing Rogue was up in the torch all this time. I guessing this because her voice came from above us and just to the left of the head.

"Help! Please help me!" Rogue screamed. The fear dripping from her voice scared me.

"You're so full of shit. If you're so righteous, it'd be you in that thing," Logan growled.

Rogue tried again. "Help! Somebody help me!"

Magneto stared at Logan as he rose out of the head of Liberty and towards the machine in her torch. The beast man growled whilst Rogue tried again for help. Logan grunted and tried to move. It was obvious that he couldn't move. He yelled and sent his claws through himself.

"Logan!" Dr Grey yelled. I watched as he fell from the wall and onto the floor.

"No!" I whispered. I screamed, "No!"

"Artemis, calm down," Dr Grey yelled at me.

I remembered Sterling and tried to call him to me. He appeared right in front of me.

"Run," I told him. He nodded and jumped right out of the head and into the water. I heard the splash. I wanted him to go to the Professor... I only hoped my rebellious side wasn't so prominent in him that it stopped him from going where I wanted him to go.

This all happened as Logan was picked up by the beast man who got three knives from the knuckles in his gut to thank him for it. They fought on the top of the head before the beast man jumped back in. I wondered what happened on the roof. I wished I could have seen it. But the closest I got to seeing was when three claws had come through on the wall in between Dr Grey and Cyclops. Rogue screamed.

The beast man gave low growl. He put a hand on Storm's face. "You owe me a scream."

Logan jumped in behind him. Logan had his dog tags around his hand and something else in his other hand. He pointed with his claws. "Hey, bub, I'm not finished with you yet."

I heard whirring at the torch.

"Jean," Logan said.

Jean looked at Scott. "Scott, when I tell you, open your eyes."

"No," Scott protested.

"Trust me," she whispered.

"You drop something?" Logan asked the beast man, holding up Cyclops' visor. It floated from his palm and travelled over to Cyclops, angling towards the beast man.

"Now!" Jean told him.

Cyclops opened his eyes and sent red beams of light from his eyes into the visor. It knocked the beast man out of the head and into the open air. Logan set us each free. He hesitated over my own.

"Why did you scream when you knew I'd heal?" he asked.

"Not the time," I breathed. "Later."

He cut me free and I looked up at the torch. I could see Rogue in some kind of contraption that was whirling all around her. Logan looked too.

"Gotta get her outta there. Can you hit it?" he asked Cyclops.

Cyclops tried to aim. "The rings are moving too fast."

"Just shoot it!" Logan demanded.

"I'll kill her!" Cyclops yelled. "Storm, can you get me up there?"

Storm shook her head. "I can't control it like that. You could fly right over the torch."

"Then let me go," Logan said. We all looked at him. "If I don't make it, at least you can still blast the damn thing."

Cyclops nodded. "All right, do it!" he told Storm. He turned to Dr Grey, "Jean, use your power. Try to steady him."

Storm warned, "Hang on to something."

Logan looked kind of funny as he sailed through the air up at the torch. All we could do was watch. He landed on top of the machine and jumped through the rings. He went to slash his claws at Rogue's binds but he stopped. Magneto was still up there? A light grew from the machine, engulfing everything in it's wake. I backed from it but it took me nonetheless.

"Storm!" I screamed. She looked back and saw me crying. She went to me and drew me to her. She walked me to see what was going on.

"Shh. It doesn't effect mutants," Storm said.

"What about mutants with part of their mind in the middle of New York City?" I asked quietly.

Logan's claws were bending backwards. Cyclops aimed.

Jean saw. "Scott, wait!"

Logan's claws hit the rings.

"Jean, I have too," Cyclops yelled.

"Just wait!" Jean instructed.

After a few seconds, I could hear panic at the summit.

"I have a shot," Cyclops said. "I'm taking it."

He shot and hit Magneto, freeing Logan of his control. Logan growled and hit the rings. He destroyed them. The light disappeared. Both Dr Grey and I took in deep breaths. I felt as though I'd been inside a sauna and was shaking like a leaf.

I fell to my knees. I passed out.


	6. Chapter 6

I didn't dare open my eyes. I didn't know what was there. I didn't know where I was. I could smell cleaning fluids. I smelt metal and strange liquids. I heard footsteps. A hand took my arm. Metal was pushing into my arm and I shot upright, gripping the throat of a red haired woman. I snarled at her. She didn't look so much as scared.

"Where am I?" I growled.

"Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," she replied. She breathed in. She closed her eyes and I get go. And I only let go because everything in the room around me started to float. As I stared in awe, the door opened. A man came in wearing a pair of red shades. Just glancing at him made me feel nervous. He looked angry or perhaps... Perhaps he was the one that was scared.

"Jean!" he yelled and everything fell. I hopped off the bed I was sitting on and ran past the man as he went to comfort the woman who was now crying on the floor.

I got out the door. Confused, I had no idea which way to go. I heard echoes of voices above me. She said this place was a school? It was all chrome and platinum! The doors had massive Xs on them. I chose to go right and left I came to a dead end. One of the voices broke away from the rest. An old man.

"Artemis," he whispered. I looked around, confused and angry. There was no one there. That's when I realized it was inside my head. _Artemis_... _Artemis... Where are you? ... Artemis? Go back and try right..._ I did as I was told for once. I ran back and tried right.

I came to a passage way.

I kept going.

Someone was coming and I hid around a corner. A door opened behind me. I stepped into it and the doors closed. I felt as though I'd left my stomach behind and I realised I was going up. I'd stepped into an elevator. The doors opened again. I stepped out and looked around. No one was around. I needed a way out. I went towards the windows and looked out. the sight took my breath away. The gardens were so big and beautiful. I could see people. Sitting down, eating, playing frisbee... I wanted more than anything to join them. But I couldn't. I needed to get out of here... I ran left and tried to open a door but it would budge. A voice yelled and I hid behind a column. I waited until there wasn't any sound and I looked around the column. A man was watching me. His hair was ridiculous.

"'Sup, kid?" the man asked.

"What am I doing here?" I asked.

"You live here," he said. He looked at me. "Are you feeling alright kid?"

"I... I don't know. I can't remember anything," I murmured. I looked at him. He looked like he was close to figuring something out.

"What's your name again?"

"I... I think it's Artemis..." I answered.

"I'm Logan. Do you know your surname, Artemis?" he asked.

"No."

"It's Scrivello," he said. "Why don't you go in the room with the open door down there. I'm sure there's someone in there who'd like to see you."

I looked at him suspiciously.

"No one's gonna hurt you," he said. He pointed down the hall. I followed the direction, checking he was there behind me. He watched me as I walked in. As soon as I was through, a pair of wrapped up arms hugged me. I pushed the person away from me, scared.

"Sorry, Artie," said the girl who'd hugged me. "I missed you."

"Great... Who are you again?" I asked, gulping.

She looked worried for a second. "Artie, it's me. Rogue."

"What's up?" a boy's voice asked.

"Artie can't remember me," Rogue told him. I walked forward to see two boys looking at me from a couch. One had blonde hair and the other had brown hair.

"Hi," I whispered.

"Oh, you're up," said a man's voice from behind me. I turned and saw a guy wearing sunglasses.

"Cyclops, she can't remember us," the boy who'd spoken told him.

"Jean said..." he muttered. He looked up. "Will you excuse me a minute."

He went back out of the room. Rogue led me to sit down on the couch.

The brown haired boy leaned forward. "I'm Bobby. We used to fight a lot."

"Sorry," I mumbled.

The blonde boy pulled Bobby back and smiled at me. "I'm John."

I smiled back.

"Why am I here?" I asked them.

"You're a mutant," Rogue answered. "Like us."

John brought out a lighter and flicked it on. The flame grew and he made a ball of fire in his palm. "I can control fire," he said, smiling at me. "You can control water."

"And heal yourself," Rogue smiled. "And a few other things, too."

"Other things?" I asked.

"You can bring this boy out of your mind. You two fight a lot, too."

"I sound... violent," I said, biting my lip.

"All apart of your charm," John joked. "How about a game of foosball?"

He gestured to the table.

"Only if I can be on goals," I smiled at him.

I may not have been able to recall my life at all, but I was enjoying this new one I had. I had this nagging feeling as John and I played against Rogue and Bobby. I felt that something was missing and not just my memories. I stopped a goal and smiled as John encouraged me. We were neck and neck when Rogue called a time out and ran out the door. I saw Logan going out the door. I could hear what they were saying. But one part stuck out to me.

"What about Artemis?" Rogue was asking.

"She needs someone right now, Rogue. Go take care of her for me," he said.

"I don't want you to go," she replied.

He took something from his neck and handed it to her. "I'll be back for this."

Rogue came back and defeated John and I alongside Bobby. Bobby didn't seem to care. Some adults were on the couch, watching the news but I ignored them.

There was something itching inside my mind. A spot where something was gone. Bobby, Rogue and John led me to get something to eat and we laughed and had a great time. I liked Bobby. I liked Rogue. But John? He was something else. He seemed to care the most about me and my condition. He answered all my questions. About me, who I was, what things I could do and have done. He told me that I'd almost killed a teacher here once. I laughed at it without really knowing why. John had chuckled when I acted embarrassed at myself. He said was okay. He said it was all going to be okay. And I believed him on that. John was my best friend. I liked him like he were a brother. I hoped to God he wasn't my brother.

When I slept, I had nightmares. About a light. About an old man. About Logan and Rogue. And through every single one of them, a line went through. 'And crawling on the planet's face, some insects called the human race, lost in tie, lost in space and meaning.' That line scared the wits out of me. And every time I woke up screaming, John would rush in and hug me close, telling me it was going to be okay. They were just dreams. They were always only dreams. Just dreams. John made me feel better. More than once did I find that I asked him to stay with me and woke up with my head on his chest.

John seemed different to everyone else. Even Bobby seemed to think I kept gearing for a fight. Rogue never left me alone. I'd always have someone with me. Whether it be herself, Bobby or John. We stuck together. And then John asked me something serious.

"Hey, we got a trip to the museum coming up. Wanna sit next me on the bus?" he asked me at lunch about two weeks before the actual trip.

I smiled at him. "Sure."

John was my best friend, Rogue not withstanding. I didn't see this as anything more than a sign of friendship. John doesn't hit on me like he does with other girls. I mean, don't get me wrong, John's nice looking and all the other girls love him to bits but I just see him as John. I think he appreciates that. And while my memories are still missing, John tells me about myself.

All I have to do is wait for them to come back.

All I have to do is wait...

All I have to do...

Wait...

_I'm coming back for you..._


End file.
